The Other
by Erin M. Blair
Summary: Scully fears the unthinkable. Is she right? Can their love survive?


TITLE: The Other  
  
AUTHOR: Erin M. Blair  
  
E-MAIL: eblair@sonic.net  
  
CLASSIFICATION/CATEGORY: SRA--Story, Romance, Angst.  
  
CONTENT: Mulder/Other. Mulder/Scully Romance. Scully angst.  
  
RATING: PG  
  
DISTRIBUTION/ARCHIVE STATEMENT: OK to Gossamer,  
  
Ephemeral, EMXC, After the Fact, etc.   
  
AWARD ELIGIBILITY: Spookys 2004  
  
SPOILERS: One Son  
  
SETTING: Season 7. No Requiem, Seasons 8 and 9.  
  
DATE: Written and edited on November 24 thru November 26, 2003.  
  
The story was completed on November 28, 2003.  
  
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS: Thanks to Jen for your support   
  
and for your beta.   
  
DISCLAIMER: Mulder and Scully belong to Chris Carter. The  
  
character of Sarah McConnell belongs to me.   
  
SUMMARY: Scully fears the unthinkable. Is she right?  
  
Will their love survive?   
  
------------------------------------  
  
The Other  
  
Written by: Erin M. Blair  
  
------------------------------------  
  
The red panties were a dead giveaway to   
  
Scully. She held the smooth satin material   
  
in her hands. It was sleek to the touch, but it   
  
wasn't hers.   
  
It wasn't hers...  
  
What was going on? She was supposed  
  
to be Mulder's touchstone, for goodness  
  
sake.   
  
Not someone else.  
  
She tried to be brave. She tried to hold back  
  
those tears, but she couldn't.  
  
She let it go. The wall had crumbled and she   
  
needed to get away. Far, far away.   
  
She could feel his arms around her. She   
  
wanted to pull away from him, but she   
  
couldn't.   
  
"Scully?"  
  
"These panties don't belong to me," she said.  
  
Her tears threatened to break, but she made   
  
certain she wouldn't break down in front of him.  
  
"Who do they belong to?"  
  
"These panties belong to Sarah -- an old neighbor  
  
who used live across the street from me in Chilmark. She's   
  
been staying with me until she gets her own place," he   
  
said. He turned around to face her. "Scully, I would never   
  
cheat on you."  
  
"You wouldn't?"  
  
"No, I would never do that to you." He could see  
  
the tears flowing down her face. He knew she was  
  
hurt by the panties and for him not telling her about  
  
Sarah. "She just came back in my life and  
  
didn't have a place to go. She's divorcing her husband  
  
because they couldn't make the marriage work. She didn't  
  
want her presence to be known."  
  
"I thought you discovered another woman to replace  
  
me," she said as she tried to gain control of her emotions.  
  
"Scully, you have me for the rest of your life. Barring any  
  
alien abductions and death, you have me." He took her in  
  
his arms, feeling the warmth of her body next to his. He  
  
leaned in to kiss her on the lips. "You're my touchstone.  
  
Never forget that."  
  
"I won't," she said as she murmured against his chest. "Are you  
  
sure you didn't cheat on me?" She pictured Sarah as a tall,  
  
graceful woman with blonde hair, deep blue eyes, and with  
  
a toned body. She already hated her.   
  
"Do you believe me?"   
  
His eyes looked pleading for understanding. "Please, Scully,  
  
believe me."   
  
"I want to believe you, Mulder. I really do. Finding another   
  
woman's panties equals cheating in my book," she said.  
  
"Scully, listen to me. I know you're hurt. I -- "  
  
She walked out of his apartment. She had to   
  
escape. It was the old 'Fight or Flight' mentality   
  
kicking in. She needed to get away but she knew it  
  
was impossible. She loved Mulder, even though he did  
  
hurt her deeply. She knew she couldn't stay away for   
  
long but she had to for now.  
  
She was at her apartment when she heard a phone   
  
ring. It was a young woman. "Dana Scully?"  
  
"Yes, this is Dana Scully."  
  
"My name is Sarah McConnell. I'm an old friend of   
  
Fox Mulder's. You found my panties at his apartment?"  
  
"Yes, I did."  
  
"I can understand what would it look like to you. Believe  
  
me, that's why I left my husband," said Sarah. "I saw him  
  
actually cheat on me." She paused. "Dana, are you still   
  
there?"  
  
"Yes, I am. Did you have sex with Mulder?"  
  
"With Fox, absolutely not! We are friends, nothing  
  
more. We used to go out to the beach together on  
  
the Vineyard. But other than that, we're good friends.  
  
I never saw him so devoted to you. You're all he could  
  
talk about." She paused. "Dana?"  
  
"He talked about me?"  
  
"Yes, he did. I'm sorry for the inconvenience about   
  
my panties. I wondered where they were."  
  
***  
  
She went back to Mulder's apartment. She saw him  
  
staring at the ceiling, despondent. "Mulder?"  
  
"Scully? Is this a dream?"  
  
"No, it's not a dream," she said. "I had some time  
  
to think about everything. I know you didn't cheat   
  
on me."  
  
"I could see why you would have thought that,  
  
Scully," he said dully. "I know how you felt  
  
about Diana Fowley. This isn't that different." He  
  
paused. "How could you love me?"  
  
"Mulder, I do love you. I was hurt that you would  
  
cheat on me. I thought you did but I know I'd jumped  
  
to the wrong conclusion. I'm so sorry that I ran out  
  
on you. Can you forgive me?"  
  
Mulder nodded. "Yes, I forgive you." He pulled her  
  
close to him. "And I would never cheat on you, Scully.  
  
You're my everything. My touchstone. My reason for  
  
living."   
  
They stood holding each other in silence, a much needed  
  
silence for their hearts to mend.  
  
--the end--  
  
Feedback: Yes, please! Send to: eblair@sonic.net   
  
Author's Notes:  
  
I never thought I would write this kind of story - I'm   
  
always thought myself as the total happy MSR fic  
  
writer. ;) This story came out of me after I read the   
  
first chapter of dtg's Dreamcatcher. I would like to   
  
thank her so much for recharging my muse. :)   
  
I would also like to thank Jen, my beta reader, for  
  
her support and her discussions with me. :) 


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